The rapid growth of small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) has created a rapidly accelerating threat to both commercial and military interests. Increased capabilities in low cost, commercial autopilots have also greatly increased the capabilities of sUAS. Today's sUAS are not only capable of carrying cameras for fun and pictures, but also are able to carry nefarious payloads such as explosives and/or other dangerous materials. They can operate autonomously with little or no input from an operator, even while performing long distance, one-way missions. The threat of sUAS is further intensified by their ability to operate in dense urban environments and over sensitive areas such as large open air gatherings of people in locations such as concerts and sports venues.
Many current counter sUAS systems rely on either jamming or disabling the target vehicle. Jamming techniques are already becoming ineffective as many of today's autopilots are capable of fully autonomous flight with no Radio Frequency (RF) input. Some can function without navigation provided by Global Positioning Systems (GPS). By operating without dependence on RF signals, modern sUAS can counter many current jamming systems.
Some capabilities already exist to disable sUAS vehicle by means of kinetic systems such as projectiles, lasers, and nets. These systems are effective against RF-independent sUAS. However, these kinetic defense systems pose an additional threat to people and/or property in the area of the intercept. For example, projectiles and lasers can injure innocent bystanders. Net systems help to reduce the risk of collateral damage, but the sUAS still impacts in the vicinity of bystanders who could be exposed to a harmful payload carried by the sUAS.
Additional systems have been proposed using deployable nets mounted on inflatable frames and carried on UAS. These systems require deployment mechanisms for the net systems in order to allow normal operation of the UAS (including landing and take off) when the net system is not deployed. Also, when used on any fixed wing aircraft or UAS, such deployable nets are necessarily dragged along the trajectory of the aircraft or UAS, and not particularly maneuverable.
Thus, an improved interceptor system for countering UASs is needed.